Lure-conveyer.



0.. P. SMITH.

LURB coNvBYBR.

APPLICATION NLE!) FEB. 26,11912.

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0. P. SMITH.

LURE GONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. ze, V1912.

Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WTNESSES: 77?"7 WWW/7 /5 75'- 'TED STATES.t PATENT oEEIcE.

OWEN r. SMITH, oFnot'rsToN, TExAs.

LunE-coNvEYEn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ppli'cation ledebruary 26, 1912. Serial No. 680,057.

To'c'lzZZ- :whom it may concern Be 1t known that I, OWEN P. SMrrH, a citizen of the United States, residin at Houston, inthe county of Harris and tate of Texas,have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Lure-Conveyers, of which t e following is a specification.

My invention .relates to new and useful improvements in lure conveyers and has more particular relation to such devices asl are'intended to be used for conveying the lure used in dog races.

The object of the invention is to provide an underground track and a conveying mechanism thereon which are entirely hidden, from view and which` carry the lure which is visible above the surface of the ground.

` Another object of the invention resides in J illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of the con- 'veyer located on the track and in the underground tunnel through which it moves. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation thereof with the rear wall ofthe tunnel removed. Fig. 3

is a plan view of the conveyer. Fi 4 1s a j side elevation thereof showing t e propelling mechanism. Fig'. 5 is a rear view of the conveyer.

Fig. 6 is a detail ofthe brake mechanism.

Referring now more' particularly to nthe drawings wherein like numerals of'reference deslgnate similar parts in each ofthe figures,

.the numeral 1 refers to a girder 'of cast metal or some similarV durable'material. which in plan presents the contourof a cross section of the tunnel of which it forms a 'part.

These girders are placed a uniform distance apart along thetunnel and rest on ties '2 and form the 'frame Work of the tunnel structure. Extending laterally fromeach side of the gir-'der are the supportinghooks 3 which are Vdesigned to receive the lower edge of the side boards 4 whose upper edges :the

support similar side boards 5, said boards 4 and '5 extending lengthwise ofthe tunnel and forming the sides thereof. Alined with.l the Joint between the boards 4 and 5 on each'v y Patented Sept. 10,1912.

side of the girders arelaterally projecting fingers 6, and-a suitable bolt 7 passes throu h thejoint and its head engages against e. of. the boards 4 and 5; said adi' acent ed bo t' extending through between the fingers' 6 and'being secured in place by means'of the nut 7. The. sides o the girder'lstand at right-angles to the'bottom thereof up to ound and then each other but near the surface of .the converge inwardly towar the free ends do not quite 'meel'.thusformf ing a top which slopes downwardlyinpppoe site directions and on each side of the'tunnel and resting upon the sloping top `pt rtionof boar 8, whose lower edges are secured' tol rthe boards 5 b means cf the spikes 9, thus l:forming a roo -like covering for the tunnel, i the comb ofV which is completedl by meansy of the boards 10 and 11, the former of which l are spiked to theboard-s 8 by means of spikes 12 and the latter of Whohare adjustablyfsecured to the former by .means of setscrews 13.

f It will be observed-that .the sides and vtop of the tunnel are thus formed of longitudinally extending timbers forming a tunnel with a sloping roof andhaving the roof members arranged in airs on each side but irders are the lengthwise extend,ing*L the extreme top mem ers 11 do not quite meet, thus forming a longitudinal ypassageway along the top of the tunnel for. a 4purpose to be hereinafter set forth. The top jmembers llarc flush with the ksurface of; the ground and their inneredges are lined with' plates 14 to protect the lsame against wear.` 'the tunnel is'the :convey'er roper-.which-,runs upon the rails-15 'formmg thefntrack.. The conveyer consist of frame work16fmountedupon front and y rearcarrier wheels A17 and 18 rigidly mounted upon their lrespective yaxle? `L19. and 20.

This conveyer carries the4 motor 21 whosel drive-shaft 22 ,carries a rigidly mounted gearfwheel 23 which meshes with the gear wheel 24I which in turn meshes with agear Y whee1'25 rigidly 'mounted upon axle 20 and through thls gear mechanism motion may be'irnparted fromfthe motor to the carrier wheelsof the conveyer.

rounds a. disk 27 rigidly mounted upon the shaft 20 and its free end has a magnet 28 alined with a magnet 29 suspended from the conve er frame and charged through wires 30. f en the magnet 29;;is` char ed it operates through its attraction for t e ma et 28 to set the brake on the disk 27 and w en the electricity is cut off from the wires 30 the brake 26 is released. f The wires 30 com municate with a brush 31 which in turn contacts with a feed wire 32 which extends entirely along the wall of the tunnel. A similar feed wire 33 extends along the -wall of the tunnel and is arranged to contact with a brush 34 which in turn conducts electricity to the motor through the wires 35.

The wires 32 and 33 are connected to a main feed wire '(not shown) by switch mechanism such that when the current -is connected with `one wire it will be disconnected from the other with the end in view that when the motor is started the brake will be released and vice versa.

Extending upwardly from Athe central yportion of the frame 16 is a support 36 which has a hinge near the bottom thereof so as to permit the to of the support to move laterally in eac direction and secured to the movable and stationary parts of this support above and below the hinge and extending laterally therefrom are the respective' arms 37 and 38, interposed bel tweeh the free ends of which are strong coil springs 39 surrounding the stays 40 which are secured to the arms 37 and have a slidable engagement with the arms 38. This construction operates to normally hold the support 36 in vertical position but'at the same time ermits the lateral movement thereof. Thls support extends up through the passageway alon the top of the tunnel and moves alongas t e conveyer moves and is provided with the roller bearings 41 in the front and rear thereof which minimize the friction against the plates 14. The top of the support 36 is divided forming a Y in which an oblon rplatform 42 rests. This platform is providge to receive an artificial animal 43 which has a metallic plate 44 secured to its body and a set screw 45 passes through one arm of the Y carried by the top of the support 36 and also the platform 42 and is tapped into the plate 44 and secures the platform and lure in place.

The tunnel is usually constructed in the shape of a circle or ellipse so as to obviate any shortl angles or turns and thus minimize the friction of the support 36 against the sides of the passageway through which it extends.

This device is intended to be used for races and is provided for the purpose of substituting an inanimate lure for a live animal, thus retaining all of the exciting and advantageous features of the sport but eliminating the inhuman features connected with the use of a live animal for the race.l

What I claim is 1. A device of the character described composed of a track and a tunnel inclosing the same, a conveyer arranged to move on said track, a mot-ive mechanism for said con-rA` veyer, a iiexible support carried by the conveyer and projecting through a len hwise passagewa along the upper side of t e' tunnel, rotata le bearings carried by the support and operating against the sides of sa1d passagewa and a lure mounted upon the upper en of said support and moving lengthwise of the tunnel and above the same.

2. A device of the character described composed of a tunnel and a track in the bottom thereof, a conveyer arran ed to move on said track, a motive mec anism for said conveyer, a suitable brake mechanism provided therefor for the purpose'of regulating the movement thereof, a sup ort yieldably secured to the conveyer and aving lateral movement relative thereto and projecting through a lengthwise passageway alon the upper side of the tunnel antifriction members carried by thesupport and ,operating against the sides of the passageway and a lure mounted upon the upper end of said support.

3. A device of the character described,

composed of a tunnel having a lengthwise passageway along 'the upper side thereof, a

track in the bottomof said tunnel, a conveyer arranged to move on said track, a movtive mechanism for said conveyer, a suitable brake mechanism provided for the purpose of regulating the movement thereof, a

support yieldably secured to the conveyer j and having lateral movement relative thereto and projecting throu h the len hwise pasa eway of the tunne ,y suitable caring mem ers carried by said 'su port and opcrating against the sides of t e passageway, a platform carried by the upper end of said support and a lure secured to said platiorm.

4. In a device of the character described, a conveyer comprising a frame work and carrier wheels, upon which the frame work is mounted, a motive mechanism operatively connected with the carrier wheels, a yield able support upstanding from the frame work, laterally extendin arms on each side of said support and resilient members interposed between the free ends of said arms, a platform carried by the upper ends of said support and a lure secured on said platform. i

5. A device of the character described, including a tunnel and a track located therein, a conveyer arranged to move on said track, a motive mechanism for said conveyor, name to this specification in the presence ot'1 a slpport hlnged to thehconveyer and lattwo subscribing witnesses. eral y move 1e relative t ereto an rejecting through a lengthwise passagewaly along OWEN P SMITH' 5 the lupper side of the tunnel and a lure Witnesses:

mounted upon said suport. A. C. GREEN,

In testimony Whereo I hajve signed my MAY MONTGOMERY. 

